Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy. It won't get him off the hook for the $148 million he owes.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
- Rudy Giuliani has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York.
- A recent court case in Georgia ordered the former mayor to pay out $148 million.
- Bankruptcy protections won't save Giuliani from having to pay out, an expert told Business Insider.
Rudy Giuliani says he's bankrupt.
But bankruptcy protections won't save him from having to pay out the $148 million he owes two Georgia elections workers he defamed, a bankruptcy expert told Business Insider.
Giuliani — who's gone from former New York City mayor to die-hard Trump ally — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Thursday, less than a week after a court found him liable of defamation.
"The filing should be a surprise to no one," Ted Goodman, a political advisor to Giuliani, said in a statement. "No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount."
Goodman said the bankruptcy filing would give Giuliani "the opportunity and time to pursue an appeal, while providing transparency for his finances under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, to ensure all creditors are treated equally and fairly throughout the process."
Because defamation is an "intentional tort" — meaning Giuliani broke civil laws on purpose — he can't jettison the $148 million judgment through the bankruptcy process, according to Eric Snyder, the chairman of the bankruptcy practice at Wilk Auslander LLP.
"If you owe somebody money and you get a judgment, you can get rid of that in the bankruptcy," Snyder told Business Insider. "But if the judgment comes from certain things — like fraud, breach of your duties, intentional torts — then you can't get rid of them."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.